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Thursday, April 12, 2012

RBC Heritage golf live stream online 2012 Harbour Town Golf Links

The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic, is a PGA Tour FedEx Cup event, first played in 1969. The venue has been the Harbour Town Golf Links at the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The Harbour Town course, which frequently appears on several “Best Courses” lists, was designed by famed golf course architect Pete Dye, with assistance from Jack Nicklaus. In 1972, the first two rounds were played on both the Harbour Town Golf Links and the Ocean course at Sea Pines, with the final two rounds at Harbour Town.

From 1987 through 2010, it was sponsored either by MCI (under both the “MCI” and “WorldCom” names) or its eventual purchaser, Verizon. In 2011, the tournament operated without a title sponsor.[1] On June 16, 2011, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced in a press conference at the Payne Stewart Ballroom at Harbour Town that Royal Bank of Canada will sponsor The Heritage until 2016.

The Heritage Classic Foundation, general sponsor of The Heritage, provides the financial stability, guidance, and direction to the tournament. After each tournament, the Foundation distributes revenue produced by the event to a wide variety of charitable organizations, universities, and medical institutions. In 2005, the Heritage Classic Foundation donated $1.55 million dollars, bringing the total to close to $13 million since it was organized.

The Heritage is one of only five tournaments given “invitational” status by the PGA Tour,[3] and consequently it has a reduced field of only 132 players (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Memorial Tournament, and the AT&T National. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).

Highlights

* 1969: Arnold Palmer wins the inaugural edition of the tournament. His finishing score of 283 is still the highest for a winner in the tournament’s history.[6]

* 1976: Hubert Green wins by four shots over Bob Murphy. It was Green’s third consecutive win in as many weeks.[8]

* 1980: George Archer sets a PGA Tour record for fewest putts in a 72-hole tournament, 94. The previous mark was 99 set by Bob Menne.[9] Kenny Knox would subsequently break Archer’s record at the 1989 MCI Heritage Golf Classic.[10]

* 1984: Nick Faldo wins his first PGA Tour event by one shot over Tom Kite. He is the first Englishman to win on United States soil since Tony Jacklin at the 1972 Greater Jacksonville Open.[11]

* 1987: Davis Love III wins by one shot over Steve Jones. Jones had come to the 72nd hole leading by one but made a double bogey after his tee shot went out of bounds right.[12]

* 1990: Payne Stewart becomes the first Heritage champion to successfully defend his title. He beats Larry Mize and Steve Jones in a sudden death playoff.[13]

* 1994: Hale Irwin collects his 20th overall and last PGA Tour win at Harbour Town. He wins by two shots over Greg Norman.[14]

* 1998: Davis Love III becomes the first four-time Heritage winner. He wins by nine shots over Glen Day. Day would go on to win the 1999 Heritage.[15]

* 2003: Davis Love III wins his fifth Heritage by defeating Woody Austin in a sudden death playoff. To get in the playoff, Love chipped in from off the green at the 72nd hole.[16]

* 2005: Peter Lonard wins by two shots over Darren Clarke, Jim Furyk, Billy Andrade, and Davis Love III. Clarke was tied for the lead when teeing off on the 72nd hole, but like Steve Jones did in 1987, he hit his tee shot out of bounds right and made double bogey.[17]

* 2007 Boo Weekley chips in on the last two holes for his first ever PGA Tour victory. He wins by one shot over Ernie Els.[18]

* 2010: Jim Furyk defeats Brian Davis in a sudden death playoff. On the first playoff hole, Davis calls a two-shot penalty on himself after he touched a loose impediment in a hazard with his golf